Becoming an Engagement Brand

By: Katja Bartholmess and Ron Robinson

Posted: April 4, 2012, from the April 2012 issue of GCI Magazine.

Social media has made it possible for beauty brands to become an integral part of consumers’ lives, but brand owners must be prepared to make a commitment to it.

Creating a real persona and voice for your brand, with opinions and values similar to those of your customers, prompts better engagement.

Share with your customers and give them an opportunity to share with your brand. The more you share together, the more you connect.

Be prepared for potential criticism as well, and also use this type of consumer feedback to better your brand.

Maintaining a social media presence has become a necessity for beauty brands big and small, indie and corporate, domestic and international—basically, everyone. And while the article “Learning Social Media’s Lessons” from the September 2011 issue of GCI magazine explored concrete examples of social media practices that have been proven to work for different beauty categories, now we will encourage beauty brands to take a good look at their social media efforts and evaluate them for best effect.

It’s time to determine whether you are ready to do more than just dip your toe into the social media experience, going beyond merely setting up a Twitter account and a Facebook page and posting a promotional link once in a while, to become an engagement brand. To do so is to fully immerse your brand and its ideas in the social media sphere, creating something that is instantly recognizable and maintains an authentic identity.

Leveraging and utilizing the opportunities the technologies around social media have to offer is imperative in becoming an engagement brand. Really, an engagement brand is one that sees communication with the consumers as an exciting two-way street where listening to what is being said to you and about your brand is at least as important as—and likely more important than—what brand managers have to say.

Beginning the Evolution

For a start, stop using the somewhat detached voice often used in traditional marketing and advertising. Instead, let your brand speak with a human voice and have an opinion about a set of topics that are aligned with your brand’s DNA.